Author. Activist. Working-class femme

Perhaps no sexual minority is more maligned or misunderstood than trans women. As a group, we have been systematically pathologised by the medical and psychological establishment, sensationalised and ridiculed by the media, marginalised by mainstream lesbian and gay organisations, dismissed by certain segments of the feminist community, and, in too many instances, been made the victims of violence at the hands of men who feel that we somehow threaten their masculinity and heterosexuality. Rather than being given the opportunity to speak for ourselves on the very issues that affect our own lives, trans women are instead treated more like research subjects: Others places us under their microscopes, dissect our lives, and assign motivations and desires to us that validate their own theories and agendas regarding gender and sexuality.